Deferred is the past tense of the word defer, which simply means to delay put off, or postpone until a later date. The date can be specified or unspecified.
Deferred has three meanings. It means to postpone or delay something. This means that something was supposed to happen at a certain time, but for whatever reason that thing is delayed. The reason it is delayed does not matter. Something can be deferred because of a positive reason, or for a negative reason.
- It has been decided that the building of the new park will be deferred.
- We apologize, but, the commission of the painting has been deferred.
Deferred can also mean that something is suspended or held for a certain period of time. In this case something is delayed, but it’s not delayed forever, and it is delayed for a set period of time.
The reason for the delay does not matter. In this instance the delay could be negotiated, agreed upon by all the parties involved, or one side may choose to inflict it.
- We have decided to defer all promotions for 90 days.
- I have chosen my right to exercise a 30 day payment deferment as stated in the contract.
Deferred can also be the induction of military service being delayed temporarily. In this situation the military service may be deferred because of a medical reason, education, or another reason. This is not a permanent delay, at some other point the person is expected to serve in the military as long as the same induction rules are in place.
- Due to a medical problem with his feet, his military service was deferred.
- What are the circumstances that military service can be deferred?
Most Commonly Used
The most common use of the word deferred is the second definition, that something is suspended or deferred for a certain period of time. In this case deferment is often used to refer to payments being deferred. These are commonly loan payments or tax payments.
In the case of loan payments, payments can be postponed for a set amount of time based on terms already stipulated in the agreement.
- Because I’m back in school my student loan payments have been deferred until I graduate.
- She has a special insurance that will allow her to defer her car payments if she is ever facing financial hardship due to medical expenses.
Synonyms
There are a few common synonyms for the word deferred, and they can often be interchanged with the word.
Postone
Means that it is arranged for something to take place at a later time than what was originally scheduled.
- Due to rain the baseball game has been postponed.
- If the witness doesn’t show up soon, we may have to ask to postpone the hearing.
Delay
Has more than one meaning, one of which being to do something later.
- My flight was delayed three hours.
- It’s very important that you are on time, they will not delay the start of dinner.
Deferred has a few other synonyms that can’t be used interchangeably, but still have a similar meaning.
Wait
Can mean for someone or something to stay where it is until a later time.
- Wait here, until I get back.
- We have been waiting for 2 hours for the game to start.
Procrastination
Means to delay or postpone something, but usually because one is avoiding doing the task. They may be avoiding it simply because they don’t want to do it.
Anotonyms
Here are some common antonyms for deferred.
Accelerate
Means to increase in speed, or move something forward.
- If I can’t pay my loan they may choose to accelerate it and I may have to pay it all at once.
- He put his foot on the gas and the car accelerated to almost one hundred miles per an hour.
Hastened
Means to travel or do something quickly.
- He hastened his steps, as he saw the man who was chasing him come into view.
- As she looked at the clock she hastened her pace, knowing her deadline was near.
Furthered
Means to help progress, develop, or promote something. It simply means to bring something farther along, or closer to its end.
- He furthered the idea that the king was a pretender.
- We always suspected that he used her to further his career.
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